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need bass tone help!!!

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1/25/2000 7:07 PM

need bass tone help!!!

My usual bass setup is a real ultra clean hi-fi sounding guy, and that is the problem. I only want to carry 1 guitar and have access to a good THUMP tone. The high eq nob doesn't get the job done.

so what i was thinking was ripping the inductor out of a wha pedal and fixing up some sort of silent bypasable tone control.

but it has to be more complex than that, i know! Can anyone give me help? Like point out cap values that might be a good place to start or any big points that this idea might be missing.

1/25/2000 8:40 PM
adrian	I'll Bite: What kind of sound is it you want? Thump meaning...Bass heavy? Distorted? What is yer current setup? This would be a help. - A

1/25/2000 10:06 PM
Dave	my current setup is various active ibaneses into an art tube pac then an art tube eq into a macki 1400i to an acme low b2. real hi-fi but it won't pull the vintage tone foo well. i'm thinking the fuzzy vintage motown sound. You know that strong dull thud....

1/25/2000 11:37 PM

I's say that at least half that sound is in
the instrument itself.

This isn't the kind of answer you wanted, but
if that's really the sound you want, put down
the active Ibanezes and get a Fender Precision.
String it with flatwounds, the heaviest gauge
you can handle, and resist the temptation to put on
a "better" bridge. (If a new bass isn't an option,
pick one of the I's and put flats on that. Bypass
the onboard EQ if possible, and turn off the bridge
pickup). On the EQ, boost the low mids, roll off
the lowest freqs, and and chop everything above 4kHz.
If there's a tweeter level control on the cab, bottom
that too. (You've probably tried all that, though...)

Reid

1/25/2000 11:48 PM

One more trick - a foam mute. The old Fenders
came with a piece of soft foam rubber that
damped the strings at the bridge. You can do
the same thing by stuffing a small piece between
the strings and the bridge plate just ahead of
the saddles. It should fit tightly enough to
stay put, but not mute the strings entirely. This
will cut both high end and sustain, which is what
you want.

What it comes down to is disabling all the
"improvements" that have been made in bass
technology over the last 25 years! I'm not
knocking that, in fact *I* play a flatwound-strung
passive bass into a 1x18 cab (no tweeter), and
my favorite stuff to play is '60s R&B. But
I also drive a '67 Mailbu. :-)

:-)

1/25/2000 11:55 PM

Dave - I think Reid is pretty much right on. I have a much narrower and "gearheadish" suggestion. I assume you usually like your tone but want an easy optional sound, preferably in a bypassable pedal format. If you are up to tearing apart wha pedals and such the I'm also assuming you want to build something?
Simple project, cheap too. Electro harmonix Hog's Foot bass Booster. 1 transistor, a few caps a few resistors - sucks ALL the highs and upper mids out and boosts the fundamental. Although my set up is all pretty much vintage to start with, I like a bright, present tone most of the time. The Hog's Foot is great for times that I want a bassy 60's fllod or a light-attack dub sound. Caveat: Much of the good of this circuit may come from it overdriving my Ampeg and it may really sound gross through you setup!
- A

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